


I'll be Missing You

by CautiousOptimism



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: 5 Times, F/M, Fluff, Post-Finale, Post-Series, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 03:13:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3341459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CautiousOptimism/pseuds/CautiousOptimism
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>And sometimes it feels like his whole life has been spent missing MacKenzie.</p>
<p> Five times in Will and MacKenzie’s relationship where Mac goes away and Will is missing her, and one time where she’s left missing him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll be Missing You

**Author's Note:**

> Well this has been bouncing around my head for a while so it feels good to finally have it out there. Enjoy!

I’ll be missing you

 Five times in Will and MacKenzie’s relationship where Mac goes away and Will is missing her, and one time where she’s left missing him.

**2006**

**She goes home to see her parents**

They’ve been together for a while when her father has a heart attack. A mild one according to the doctors, but she still flies out as soon as she gets the news, looking wide eyed and panicked as he waves her off at the airport.

And after only 2 days of MacKenzie being gone, Will finds himself resisting the urge to call or text her every few minutes. _He misses her._

A lot.

This is the first time in their relationship that they’ve really been apart and he just misses her. Will’s been calling her twice a day just to check in and just hearing her voice seems to ground him. His bed feels too big without her in it and the apartment is too quiet without her usual whirl wind of energy. He’s going stir crazy and it’s only been two days and he wonders how he ever survived before she came bursting into his life.

On the third day of missing her, he decides that he will join her as soon as his show is over on Friday. MacKenzie insists that it’s not necessary he come but he can tell that she wants him there from the relief he hears in her voice when he mention it to her on one of their calls ( that and she doesn’t really put up a fight when trying to convince him not to come). Plus he’s met her parents, and he likes her parents and would like to see for himself that Mac’s dad is okay.

“Will?” MacKenzie says in a small voice, that sounds exhausted when they say their goodbyes on the phone on the third day of missing her.

“Yeah?”

“Thank you. I love you”

And he can’t help the smile that splits his face and the warmth that spreads through him at those words. It’s not the first time she has said it but it still startles him that a woman as amazing as MacKenzie McHale would fall in love with a Nebraskan farm boy like him.

“I miss you and I love you too”

Will asks her to move in with him when they get back to the states a few days later.

Mackenzie says yes.

**2008**

**She breaks his heart and goes to a warzone**

He misses her and he hates himself for it.

He tells himself that she shouldn’t miss her. That he shouldn’t keep tabs on her and her team in Afghanistan. That he shouldn’t have her name google alerted. He tells himself that he shouldn’t still know how she feels in his arms, how she curls around him in her sleep, how she smells.

He shouldn’t still care about her, shouldn’t still love her after her betrayal because that exactly how it happened with his dad. Will still loved his dad after his first time in prison, still cared, still missed him. Still forgave him. And after _I’m sorry, I’ll never do it again, I’ve changed,_ his father did do it again. And again, and again until Will learned that a few meaningless words and fishing trips didn’t mean anything. _His father taught him to be unforgiving._

He can’t forgive her and let himself be hurt again; he learned his lesson with his father. It’s his protection mechanism. If you don’t forgive them, they can’t hurt you again.

Will shouldn’t still care but he does. He misses MacKenzie.

It’s a longing like he’s never felt before that he feels deep down in his bones and soul. And it makes him even angrier at himself and her.

So he just sits out on his terrace with a glass of something that he’ll regret in the morning, looks out at the sky and he misses her.

 

**2013**

**She goes to speak at a panel**

They have been engaged for about 3 months when MacKenzie gets invited to speak at a panel out of town. One night and two days.

She’s only been gone for a couple of hours when Will arrives at his old apartment after the show. Him and Mac were in the process of moving into their new unfinished apartment but they had yet to move a bed into the place so they were in between homes at the moment ( although he never really considered his apartment home; not with all its steel finishes and sharp lines. Home was what he and MacKenzie were building).

She had left early that morning with a longing kiss and whispered endearments and he had been especially grumpy in the office as a result of her absence.  But in his defence this was basically the first time he had let Mac out of his sight for longer than a few hours since they had gotten engaged (about a month into their engagement Sloan had cornered him in his office one morning and loudly complained that she never saw Mac anymore since they had been engaged as they seemed to be joined at the hip and then declared that she was kidnapping his fiancé for a girls night. Will had to resist the urge to interrupt her rant to mention to her that her and Don were also rarely apart in the past weeks).

 And honestly if he had his way, they would never sleep away from each other ever again. MacKenzie had just laughed when he had told her as much as they were cuddled in bed the night before she left and said that maybe it would be nice for him not to have the ‘old ball and chain’ around for two days, to which he had just vehemently shook his head and buried it in her hair. Her not being around reminds him too much of when they apart. Those lonely nights out on the terrace.

Coming back to an empty apartment was just like when Mac had come back and he had wasted time pretending he didn’t love her. Spending sleepless nights on his balcony missing her when she was just a few blocks away.

After tossing and turning for a few hours, he winds up calling her past midnight when he can’t fall asleep. When she answers he hears the amusement in the sleepy gravel of her voice and she mumbles something about him missing his better half. He grumbles at that but he can’t help the grin that spreads across his face at her voice.

They stay on the line with each other until she falls asleep and Will chuckles at how she _always_ falls asleep while he’s in the middle of talking to her at night. He whispers that he loves her down the line before hanging up, feeling more settled and ready to sleep.

And sometimes it feels like his whole life has been spent missing MacKenzie.

Now at least he knows when she’s coming back and that she’s coming back to him, to their _home_.

 

**Late 2013**

**She goes to DC**

It was no secret that some people in their D.C office were not thrilled when MacKenzie took over Charlie’s job as president of the news division.

It was causing problems in D.C and across the whole network in general so after having been at her post for over two months Mac, decided that she needed to go down there for a couple of days just to get things straightened out. Some things you just can’t sort out over the phone (or by cutting the live feed for D.C when Jane Barrow was being particularly difficult).

Will did not like this plan for several reasons; the most prominent two being that she was a few months pregnant and that he would have to sleep without her for a few days. He did however understand that it was what she had to do since she was the boss now. Put out all the fires. So he sulks about having to miss her but is immensely proud of her because she is damn good at her job.

Though he realises as she leaves that he won’t only be missing his wife, he will also be missing his kid too. Will had grown accustomed to the feeling of the ever growing curve of her belly pressing up against him as they slept because the baby was safe there, tucked between Mummy and Daddy.

 Mac’s pregnancy was considered high risk because of her age but five months in and everything had been going well. Their kid was strong and healthy, but he still worried all the time (after having read pretty much every parenting book he could find from the time she had told him about his impending fatherhood, he had been on high alert at the slightest sign of discomfort or pain across Mac’s face) and the thought of not being able to be with them ( _to_ _keep them safe)_ for a few days was killing him.

What followed was a tense week of him missing (and worrying) about his family. Will only really feels like he can breathe again when MacKenzie returns and he holds her tightly against him with soft swell of their baby between them.

 

**2014**

**She goes to a meeting with Pruitt**

Will could not seem to get the baby to stop crying.

It had been a tearful goodbye process when Mac had left earlier in the day. Pruitt was dragging her along to meet with media companies for new slogan designs (or something like that) for ACN and it was going to be her first real time away from the baby since he was born.

To make matter worse, he was sick. Their little boy was just getting over an ear infection and still was not allowed to fly or him and Will would have been going with her.

Will was currently walking around Ben’s nursery trying to get him to sleep but he was having no luck. This was strange for Will because Ben was usually such an easy baby.

Benjamin Charles McAvoy was a good baby by all accounts. He had rarely cried as a new born, developed a good sleeping pattern early on and always seemed to be smiling. He only really made a fuss when he wasn’t feeling well. Will and Mac had not known what they had done to deserve such an easy going kid, but they were thankful.

Will walked his son around a bit more while rubbing a hand up and down his back and sang to him like he usually liked but it wasn’t helping.

The six month old just whimpers more and rubs his face into wills chest from side to side as if trying to get comfortable.

“I know buddy, I know” Will says as he finally decides to just take Ben into the master bedroom and let him fall asleep in there because he is exhausted. It’s been a long week of sleepless nights with Benjamin being sick and he feels like he could just fall asleep standing up. It was weeks like this that made Will feel like he was too old for this; for a baby (but he wouldn’t swop his life for anything. Being a father _definitely_ lived up to the hype).

Will holds Ben to his chest with one hand and begins removing all the pillows piled on top of the bed with the other. He honestly didn’t know why they had so many useless little pillows on the bed and at that moment it just felt like they are never ending and standing between him and sleep. They had finally completed their old apartment when Mac was almost 7 months pregnant and by the time that Ben had been born they had just finished moving into the brownstone they had settled on instead of the house in the suburbs that Will had suggested.

Once he finally removes all the throw pillows and gets them settled against the headboard and under the sheets, Will hums the lullaby that Mac usually chooses to get Ben to sleep while gently rubbing up and down his little back. This seems to work as Ben’s stopped crying and it’s just the occasional whimper that comes from his mouth but his little eyelids are droopy and Will can tell that he is getting sleepy.

After a few minutes of no noise, Will cranes his head down to peak at Ben’s face and he sees that his eyes are closed with his tiny thumb in his mouth and he is asleep.

Will carefully stands up, moves out of bed and leans down to move Ben to the crib in their room that they used when he was still a new born. He slowly begins to lower him down to the crib but Ben’s eyes pop open and fill with tears as he begins wailing again, his tiny fists clinging to Wills shirt for dear life.

Will sighs as he straightens up and shushes him with a few kisses to his straight blonde hair. “Okay, baby. Okay” he’s at his wits end and doesn’t know what else to do.

Then it clicks.

Benjamin probably just misses MacKenzie. Of course! It wasn’t only Mac’s first time away from him; it was Bens first time away from his mother too. And if Will knew anything about his son, it was that he was a mama’s boy (not that he could blame the kid. MacKenzie was amazing).

Will smiles as he looks down and kisses his sons head. “We got it bad, you and me.”

Ben just stares back up at his daddy with tear stained face and MacKenzie’s eyes.

“Okay munchkin, how about we give your mummy a call on Skype?” Ben seems to perk up when he hears the word ‘mummy’. Will quickly grabs his phone off his night stand, shoots Mac a text to log into Skype and then he logs on himself to call her. (Neal had given them both a crash course in video chatting when she first went away when she was pregnant).

She answers on the first ring. “Hi” she says with a soft smile as she appears on the screen with her glasses hanging off the end of her nose. Her room seems dark save for the bedside lamp and the light from her cell phone. She doesn’t look like she was asleep so he doesn’t feel guilty for possibly having woken her.

“Hi” He says using the same tone as her, unable to keep the smile off his face at the sight of her. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen in real life. “There’s someone here who wants to say hi to you”. He shifts the phones angle down slightly so that she can see Ben, who is sitting with his back on Will’s chest.

“Hi baby” Mac says in a strained voice that lets Will know that she is holding back tears.  Their son looks a little confused at first and looks back from the phone to Will a couple of times, not quite understanding why he was seeing his mother on this small thing. But Will and Mac encourage him.

“Come on buddy, look its mama” Will says bringing the little boy’s attention back to the small phone screen. Ben reaches his small, unsure hands out towards the phone.

“Hi Benji” Mac tries again in a sing song voice.

Ben’s eyes immediately light up at Macs voice and he smiles and coos, babbling some baby nonsense to his mother. Will just smiles and watches the two people he loves most in this world.

They eventually say their goodbyes when Ben’s eyes start to droop. His son is more settled after having talked to his mommy. Will gets one of her old grey army t-shirts and gives it to Ben to sleep with instead of his usual blankie (given to him by Auntie Sloan when he was first born) because it smells like Mac. This seems to keep the baby calm and able to sleep, which means Will can also get some sleep.

It sucks not having Mac next to him at night but at least this time he’s not missing Mac by himself. He’s got a little piece of her right there with him.

 

**2017**

**Will gets invited to Northwestern again**

She keeps an eye on the blonde-haired little boy is sitting with his legs tucked up underneath him as he watches the people scurry by.

He loves the airport. Ever since he was a baby he seemed to have a fascination with the place and the people rushing to and fro. Her husband had even hung up some small model planes on the ceiling of his bedroom.

Although the airport was not especially busy MacKenzie was still keeping a sharp eye on her oldest since he was at the age where he sometimes tended to wander off. Media interest was peaked again when Ben was born and for a time Mac wasn’t able to go out alone with the baby without someone with her. Will going to prison, their courthouse marriage and her pregnancy had seemed to captivate the media. Of course Pruitt loved the publicity but Will hated the unnecessary scrutiny his family would have to be subjected to and worried constantly about their safety. Their lives had calmed down a bit in the past four years and they weren’t really front page news that often anymore except for when their second was born.

They were at the airport to pick Will up since Mac thought it would be a nice for him to have his family waiting there when he came out the gate as they never really did this. Well, that and she missed him. More that she knew what to do with since she was the one who was usually going away. It felt weird to be the one left behind. And she had two little people who were also missing their daddy.

The little girl in her arms pats a hand on her face to get her attention and snaps Mac out of her thoughts. MacKenzie laughs and kisses her daughters hand while bouncing Stephanie in her arms slightly.

“Are you excited to see daddy?” she coos to her baby. The eight month old just babbles to her mother as if carrying on the conversation. “Yes, he is excited to see you too”

“What about me mummy?” Ben asks shaking her pant leg up and down gently, having suddenly materialised by her side. She laughs at his antics. He looks so much like Will that it gives her pause sometimes. They have the same hair, smile and face shape. He has her eyes though (as Will like to point out to anyone who will listen).

“Of course you too my darling” she answers him running a hand through his soft hair while Stephanie sits on her hip. (It takes her aback sometimes that she’s actually someone’s mother. Two someone’s actually. Her and Will actually made these two carbon copies of themselves and their children are happy. They’re all _happy.)_

Mac’s answer seems to satisfy the little boy and he goes back to where he was sitting and watching people.

A few minutes later she hears an announcement over the speakers and sees the people from Wills flight beginning to come out the gate. She calls Ben over and grabs his hand in hers. Ben begins to swing their joined hands back and forth as they wait.

Mac laughs a little to herself when she finds that she’s nervous and excited. After over a decade of being in love with Will, she still gets nervous about seeing him. She still gets butterflies. And he’s only been gone for two days.

Benjamin spots him before she does.

“Daddy!” he screams as he lets go of Mackenzie’s hand and runs as fast as his four year old legs can carry him to his father.

 Will catches him on the fly when Ben launches his body towards him, abandoning his luggage. He showers their son with kisses, emitting giggles from Ben as Mac and Stephanie move towards them.

When their within arm’s length of Will, Stephanie (ever the daddy’s girl) immediately reaches out her small arms to will and flexes her fingers. Will sets Ben down and lifts his little girl from Mac’s arms.

“Hi Stephie” Will says while planting a sweet kiss on her check. The little girl squeals in his arms.

When he finally turns to look at her with his unbelievably blue eyes she feels like her whole heart is about to burst with happiness. He’s here, he’s home and she’s missed him.

And when Will wraps his arms around her in a sweet hello, all she can think is that she never wants him to go away again.

**Author's Note:**

> Is my love for Parks and Rec showing with the name Ben? Sorry I just couldn't resist. Anyway please review and give me any feedback. I'm still trying to get my writing style down so all pointers would be appreciated. Thanks for reading!


End file.
